Glass
by Lady-AuRevoir
Summary: The news of his death hit her like a hurricane, leaving a hole in the middle of her chest where her heart should have been. She didn't want to believe it at first. He couldn't be dead, it was a sick joke. But why did she feel like she was about to break? [ Rated T for slight swear word]


Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Bleach characters/storylines or affiliated merchandise. All of the previous are owned by Tite Kubo, Viz Media, and Studio Pierrot.

Further Disclaimer: Because I do not own _Bleach_ by Tite Kubo, I can not become too OOC with his beloved characters. There will be no yaoi, no yuri, no Mary Sues, no crazed fangirls, no Romeo and Juliet romance hijinks or highschool AUs. This is a shounen manga. That means a lot of fighting and protecting crap.

**A/N: **Lady-AuRevoir Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. I shall nom-nom on you if you take. Understood? Good. I was inspired to write this after Kensei's death in the manga. Enjoy.

Glass

"Captain Kensei Mugurama is dead."

Mashiro's heart dropped to the soles of her feet upon hearing the news that her beloved captain had been killed in action. Slowly everything around her seemed to blur and contort; slowly it seemed she was sinking to her knees, crumbling from the impact of the news. Her heart rate increased, her breath hitched and seemed as though she was going to fall apart.

"I-I'm s-sorry. I-I'm c-confused. Y-You s-s-said K-Kensei i-is d-d-dead?" she stammered,

"I'm sorry, Mashiro." Isane told her solemnly, her eyes forecast on the floor. The lime-green haired lieutenant shook her head, hand clasped over her mouth making inaudible sounds behind them, the small hands balling up into fists. Isane stared. She had expected this of course. Lieutenants were somewhat close and most of all loyal towards their Captains.

"Can't be. It can't be," Mashiro whispered. But a voice inside of her ket repeating the facts over and over again. Isane did not come all this way to give her news that he was injured like she hoped she would tell her; no, she'd come to deliver news of her captain's death. Others would have been blunt about it, not sorry in the least. Just as expected Mashiro had her heads in the clouds, foolish, naive, immature and bratty.

Did she want to know how he died? She swallowed the lump in her throat. No, she was not going to cry. Kensei died in the line of duty, protecting Soul Society and the people in it. He dealt with what was tasked to him on the battlefront, he was strong and unshakeable. Mashiro should be happy that he didn't just die for anything. Kensei would not have died so easily. Crush and destroy, he once told her.

_Weaklings. I'm going to give them a taste of my fists. _

So, why? Why did she feel like glass; so fragile and bound to break. Why did she want to shatter right then and now, just so that she could forget the earth shattering news that left her breakable like glass. Her mind drifted to the days she was most fond of us, the days they lived as Vizards in the Human World. All of them had become a close knit family, at least that how it was in her mind. A faint smile crossed her features through the tears cascading down her cheeks. What would Kensei say now if he saw her like this?

He'd probably look at her pitylingly and tell her to suck it up in the only way he knew best.

"Kensei is dead," Mashiro's voice became monotone, solemn, a little breaky.

She thought back to a day when the Ninth Division had been on break. Mashiro wandered off to do what she did best, annoy. She had become distracted by a butterly at the time, wanting to chase it like a child. And then when she came back to rejoin her team for a nice leisure, there he was. Her captain lay propped against the thick trunk of a tree with closed eyes as though in slumber. Her initial reaction to his vulnerable state was to stir him, talk his ear off with another one of her ridicolous tiraids.

The lieutenant tip-toed idly towards her captain, smiling mischievously. She got closer until she was nose level with the silver-haired commander. Instead of poking him or yelling in his ear, she watched the rise and fall of his chest. She titled her head to examine his sharp features. He seemed so much younger in his sleep. As long as the two of them had been together, Mashiro rarely saw her captain take so much as a second of sleep. He was always so sharp, observant, and quick on his feet.

She suppressed a giggle, hoping to see him drool a little. She didn't want to admit she liked what she saw, and this wasn't the time to get worked over that. Mashiro didn't have feelings for him in that way. He was a much older man and she was a child to him, like the annoying sister he was glad he never had.

When was she ever going to get a chance like this again?

Kensei wasn't so tense, nor were his features angry. What was he dreaming about? Maybe his life before he came to Soul Society.

Kensei mumbled something in his sleep, opened his eyes and focused them on the young girl seated before him with a smile on her face.

_"Idiot, what are you looking at?" _

_"Sleeping Beauty. Did you have a nice nap?" _

_"I'll fucking kill you." _

_"I just wanted to see you sleep," she whined. _

Why couldn't this all be a dream? She half-expected him to pop out of nowhere, curse her out and tell her to get into gear. She would be waiting a long time. He was dead, never coming back. It was something she was just going to have to get used to.

Would she ever be the same after this?

Isane's hand touched Mashiro's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mashiro. I did the best I could. The enemy got them before I could-"

"Was it for nothing?" she whispered.

"What?" Isane asked, not hearing her because her voice was so soft at this moment.

"Was his death painful?" Mashiro asked with hopeful hazel eyes.

"He didn't feel a thing."

( He died while in your care, Isane. In his final moments before Gremmy Thoumeaux's arrival he knew there was no point of return.)

Mashiro wiped her tearful face, choked on a sob. She stood slowly on both feet. Her mind was still wheeling with memories of her captain, the good, the bad, the hilarious, down to the ugly. She wanted to see his body, just one last time. Maybe it would give her some peace.

"You did the best you could," Mashiro said. "I shouldn't be crying like a baby, Kensei wouldn't like the idea of that. He'd be angry that someone as strong as me would cry over his death. Kensei died a hero."

"Mashiro..."

"Instead of crying, I'm going to fight. For Kensei's sake. I'm going to keep fighting and fighting, I'll become stronger until I'm no longer glass, but titanium! After all, I am the Super Lieutenant of the Gotei 13!"

A sudden dread came over Mashiro that she quickly shook off. "This means I'm the new captain of the ninth division, huh?"

Silence.

"That sounds so boring! I'm really going to miss that meanie Kensei! At least he would know how to handle this, it's so stupid. Wait, or does Shuuhei become the new captain. I'm confused."

She shrugged. "Still, I'm going to miss our outbursts, Kensei. Thanks a lot for leaving me, you baka."

**And there you have it. Let me know what you think. Critiscism is appreciated and so are reviews, lol. Happy readings. I'm going back to school soon so I need to put in as much time as possible for my writing. Until then...**


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